معرفی
Wolfgang Römer, born 1936 in Düsseldorf, has been an Honorary Professor at the University of Cologne Faculty of Law since 2000 while simultaneously serving as Germany’s first Insurance Ombudsman (2001-2008). Earlier he spent 1990-2001 as a judge at the Federal Court of Justice (Bundesgerichtshof) in the IV. Civil Senate specialising in insurance matters, and was a member of the Federal Ministry of Justice commission that drafted the 2008 reform of the German Insurance Contract Act (VVG).
Education & Career:
- 1954 – Commercial apprenticeship
- 1954-1965 – Employed in private industry
- 1965-1970 – Law & economics studies, University of Bonn
- 1970 – First state law exam, Cologne
- 1973 – Entered judicial service, North Rhine-Westphalia (focus: banking, commercial & company law)
- 1974 – Second state law exam, Düsseldorf
- 1990-2001 – Judge, Bundesgerichtshof (IV. Civil Senate, insurance law)
- 1996-2000 – Lecturer, University of Cologne Faculty of Law
- 2000-present – Honorary Professor, University of Cologne
- 2001-2008 – First Ombudsman for private insurance, Germany
- Advisory board member, Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
- Member, Federal Ministry of Justice reform commission on insurance contract law
Research & Policy Focus:
Römer’s writing and legislative work centre on insurance contract law, consumer protection in financial services, supervision of insurers, and civil-procedure aspects of coverage disputes. He has co-authored the authoritative commentary on the German Insurance Contract Act (6 editions 1997-2019) and has published extensively on disclosure duties, policy conditions, reform of disability insurance, and the role of alternative dispute resolution in insurance.
Publication Trends:
Across more than two decades his articles analyse the evolution of German insurance jurisprudence after market deregulation, critique consumer-protection weaknesses, and propose legislative fine-tuning. Recurrent themes are transparency obligations, fairness in life and disability products, and the practical functioning of the insurance ombudsman scheme he helped shape.
Honours & Roles:
- Honorary Professor, University of Cologne
- First Insurance Ombudsman of Germany
- Member, reform commission for the Insurance Contract Act 2008
- Advisor to Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin)
Advising & Grants:
While no formal doctoral students are listed, Römer has influenced generations of practitioners through his judicial opinions, commentaries, and policy papers. He has participated in numerous government, industry and consumer forums tasked with drafting or evaluating insurance legislation, although specific grant records are not provided.
Labs & Teams:
No dedicated research laboratory is mentioned; his scholarly output stems from honorary academic engagement, judicial experience, and policy commissions rather than an institutional research group.
